The Odd Woman Out
by JaspersPsychicPixie
Summary: Bella has lived in Forks whole life. But she's also lived with a secret that has kept her feeling separated from the rest of mankind. When five new students come to school in Forks could Bella have finally found people who can understand what she can do?
1. First Day

**A/N: This is my first fanfic in a while and I'm just starting to get back into writing. It's kinda AU because Bella's always lived with Charlie and she's got a secret of her own, but I like the idea. Hopefully this'll turn into at least a decent fanfic and that you'll enjoy it. Well I guess that's it for now. Please Read and Review. :)**

**Chapter One**

For as long as I can remember I haven't been normal. I've never felt like I fit in with my friends and most of the time it was hard to keep what I needed to from them. Maybe if they knew the truth I would fit in better, then again, it was more likely that they would completely freak out.

My name is Isabella Marie Swan, Bella for short, and I live with my father Charlie in Forks, Washington. My mother Renee left my father and me when I was too young to remember. I've been visiting her in the summers since I was ten though; she finally decided she wanted to be a part of my life. She didn't feel as though she would be able to raise a child at such a young age, Charlie and Renee had gotten married right out of High School. I had always vowed to myself that I would never get married so young, that I would never leave a son or daughter. It's not that I didn't love my mother, but she had made some bad decisions and I refused to follow in her footsteps with the same ones. It had taken a couple of years for me to actually enjoy being in her company.

Charlie is the chief of police here in Forks and it was rather annoying having to be driven around in the police cruiser that he always drove. Luckily I had recently gotten his friends' old red truck. He was now in a wheel chair and so he could no longer drive it. Thankfully it was fairly cheap and did not need any work, it was just painstakingly loud. I was in love with it though and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tomorrow was my first day of my junior year at Forks High School. There was talk of new students amongst my friends, which occupied my usually boring conversations with them in the days preceding school. We guessed what they would look like and what their names would be. It was something new, something exciting, which hardly ever happened here in the small and usually dull and boring town. Hopefully I could keep my emotions in check if the new kids turned out to be jerks; I didn't need my friends to start thinking of me as the weirdo again. When I was ten weird things would always occur when I was around, flying books, exploding popcorn, shaking tables. No one knew why things like this happened, only that they happened when I was around and so naturally the blame fell on me, labeling me as strange. I got the nickname weirdo and most of my friends were hesitant or refused to hang out with me. I had lost a few friends from that, not that I had really cared, I've always felt like I didn't belong, the fewer friends the better. I felt safer in smaller crowds, felt like I was less likely to lose control. However it was rather dull without any friends, there is not much to do in Forks, so I was glad to still have some friends even if I always felt out of place.

My alarm woke me up in the morning, causing me to fall out of bed as I rolled over to shut it off. "Ouch…" I yelped as I rubbed my head and stood up, stretching once I was firmly on both of my feet. Clumsy as always. I sighed as I realized what today was, the first day of school, oh joy. I quickly got dressed into the first outfit I found in my closet, jeans and a navy blue turtle neck. I slipped on some sneakers and stumbled downstairs, wishing I could just fast-forward through the day, knowing that it was impossible. I just had to suck it up and deal with it. It would be over soon enough, at least that's what I had to keep telling myself. I did not hate school nor did I love it, I just merely did not enjoy the

"Morning Bells," Charlie greeted me in the kitchen, not looking up from the morning paper, our usual school morning routine. Charlie would read the paper before leaving to go to the station while we ate in silence. My dad would leave before I needed to leave for school and so I would usually clean both of our dishes before heading out to my car for school.

"Morning," I mumbled grabbing a bowl, some cereal, and milk. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and slowly ate my usual breakfast of Apple Jacks. Once Charlie had left and I had cleaned the dishes from breakfast I sighed, realizing that I had to leave for school or I'd be late. I grabbed my coat which was on the coat rack by the door and headed to my car.

Once I was parked in the school parking lot it started to rain and I sighed heavily, disappointed. "Great…another first day...with rain," I mumbled to myself as I opened my car door and entered the newly falling rain.

My first class was Trigonometry in building three with Mr. Varner and I quickly headed for the building clearly marked with a three to escape the falling rain as fast as possible. I noticed a silver Volvo sitting in the parking lot as I passed it and almost stopped and stared. No one in Forks had a Volvo, who would drive one around here? Heck, who would drive one to this small school? I made it to building three with a couple minutes to spare and plopped down in the empty seat next to my friend Angela.

"Hey Angela, did you see that Volvo outside? Who would drive something like that to THIS school?" I quickly asked, barely pausing from when I had sat down to when I had started talking.

"It's one of the new kids'. There are five of them, they all came together. They're really unusual, very pale and extremely…" Angela was cut off as the teacher made us quiet down so he could start the lesson. As curious as I was about these five new students I would just have to wait until after class. I wasn't that great in math, I needed to pay as much attention as I could, not to mention getting in trouble on the first day of school would not go over well with Charlie.

Trigonometry seemed to drone on forever until finally the bell rang signaling the end of class. I hopped up and looked at Angela, waiting while she collected all of her things. I followed her out of the classroom, desperate to ask her what she had not been able to finish. I didn't know why this subject was so interesting to me, I usually wasn't this caught up with the gossip of Forks, but for some reason this new family piqued my interest.

"Ang, what were you saying about the new kids before class?" I quickly spit out as soon as we had left the classroom.

"The new kids…Oh yeah, they're very pale and extremely gorgeous. They basically have perfect features. They all look like they could be super-models or something. I think they moved here from Alaska or someplace cold like that. They're all adopted, their adopted father is a doctor," Angela rambled on.

I took all of this information in and stored it away in my memory so that I could recall it later on if necessary. "How'd you know all that?" I inquired curiously.

"My dad met the new kid's dad at the hospital, he's working there, very good my dad said. He told me some stuff. They're last names' are Cullen, well except for two of them, the Hales; they're twins, a boy and girl. There are two other boys and one other girl."

"Hm..." I mumbled thoughtfully. I realized that if I didn't get to class soon I would probably be late. "Hey, I'll see you at lunch, OK Ang? I gotta get to class, don't want to be late on my first day."

"Alright, cya there Bella," Angela replied, waving as she headed in the opposite direction toward her next class.

I carried on through the rest of my classes in a semi-daze until lunch, thinking only of the new students. I tried to imagine them in my mind, pale and beautiful. The images I came up with never seemed right, they seemed to perfect to be real. I couldn't wait until lunch so that I could see these five new students, who had the school in an uproar. When the bell before lunch rang I nearly skipped all the way to the lunch room, hardly realizing anything around me, just wanting to see these new students, see what everyone was talking so excitedly about. I reached the lunchroom, getting in line to grab some food and a bottle of pop. I refused to look around at everyone until I was seated at a table. I grabbed my tray, paid, and sat at my friends' usual table, the first one there, thankfully. I wasn't sure what my reaction would be when I laid eyes on them. I nibbled on a fry as I finally allowed my eyes to wander around the room, looking for the five kids I wanted to see…


	2. Lunchtime

**A/N: Sorry these chapters aren't very long, I'll try to make them longer if I can. I'm also going to try to get a chapter out no later than every other day, I hope every day, but I know I can't promise that because of school. Thank you so much for all the reviews. It really helps keep me stay on track and keep updating a story. Well enough of my ramblings, lol, on to the Chapter. Please Read and Review. Let me know if you don't like something or if should change something.**

_I wasn't sure what my reaction would be when I laid eyes on them. I nibbled on a fry as I finally allowed my eyes to wander around the room, looking for the five kids I wanted to see…_

**Chapter 2**

As my eyes settled on the new students clustered around a lunch table in one of the corners of the room, my heart skipped a beat and I nearly gasped. Three boys and two girls, just as Angela had said. As I gazed at the new students all I could think of was one word to describe the boys, gods, and one word to describe the girls, goddesses. They looked so strange surrounded by the ordinariness of all the other students around them. Their skin was nearly chalk-white, inhuman almost, although I had never been to Alaska, maybe all Alaskans had skin like that. Their pale skin seemed to be made of some strange kind of stone, their features so perfectly straight and angular. The only other characteristics that made the five of them look alike were their eyes which resembled black onyxes and the purple-ish bruises that resembled bruises under their eyes. The bruises reminded me of someone who suffered from lack of sleep, and yet, on these god-like creature's faces it seemed like something more. I wondered fleetingly if they all wore contacts. I couldn't think of another reason for their eyes to be so similar, so identical.

One of the girls and one of the boys seemed more similar than the others and I assumed they were the Hales, the twins Angela had mentioned earlier. I scanned the group, sorting through their differences. The two girls' appearance seemed almost exact opposites of each other. They were seated in-between the three boys. There was no way they could be related, so why were their eyes and skin so very similar, both their features so perfect? One was short with dark black hair, crop cut and styled almost spiky like. The other girl was drop-dead gorgeous, everything about her screamed I'm perfect and gorgeous worship me. She resembled a model with her golden-hair flowing freely, reaching her middle back. The three boys were fairly different. The one on the right side of the short girl was very tall and lean with honey blonde hair, resembling the taller girl, they must be the twins. The second one, seated to the right of the tall girl, had dark curly hair; his bulky muscle's making him seem very menacing, yet welcoming at the same time. The last boy, the one that I most lingered on, that caught more of my attention than the others, sat a little ways away from his siblings, to the left of the shorter girl. He looked somewhat boyish when being compared to his brothers, with untidy reddish-brown hair. He was less bulky than his menacing brother, but he was by no means scrawny.

The boyish brother was absentmindedly looking out the window when I caught sight of him and I felt my heart speed up considerably. The pop bottle that sat by my right hand shook back and forth, toppling onto the floor. Thankfully it was closed and sealed not to mention that fact that no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to me. Suddenly his head snapped towards me, his eyes meeting mine in a breathtaking gaze. The movement happened so fast I almost thought I had been wrong at where he had been originally looking. I briefly wondered if he had been looking at me the whole time, and I had merely imagined him gazing out the window. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as he caught me basking in all his glory. No matter how hard I tried, how much I wanted to, or how much I needed to, I could not convince any part of my body to look away from his glorious face. It seemed like there was an invisible string connecting our eyes, one that refused to break or bend. If I didn't look away soon I feared I would wreak havoc on the cafeteria.

Annoyance entered his eyes as he finally looked away, freeing my eyes. I quickly grabbed my pop bottle off the ground, shifting my eyes to my approaching friends. I wondered why he had gotten an annoyed look but pushed the thought away for the moment. The thought would only get me into trouble with my friends seated around me. I greeted the three of them as they filled the table. It took my heart a couple of minutes to finally calm down. I silently sighed in relief as I felt it return to its normal rhythm and made a mental note not to get locked into his godlike features or his glorious gaze again. I would need to try to ignore him it would be better that way, safer.

My three good friends were now seated around me, Angela to my right, Jessica to my left, and Mike in-between them. I flashed them a half-hearted smile. I was still slightly reeling from my stare-off with the gorgeous bronze-haired beauty.

"Have you heard about those new kids?" Jessica asked excitedly after we had exchanged our greetings. It was obvious she had some sort of gossip to spread.

"Depends on what you have to say," I replied shrugging, attempting to act as casually and calmly as I possibly could. "By the way what are their names and which ones which?" I couldn't keep the curiosity out of my voice as I asked the question and I saw my friend's eyebrows being raised in their own bit of curiosity.

"You don't usually take such an interest Bella," Mike chimed in, curiosity and surprise prevalent in his voice. "What caused the change?"

I shrugged half-heartedly. "They just seem so unusual I guess." I risked a quick peek at the reddish-brown haired boy and inwardly sighed with relief when I realized he wasn't looking my way.

Unfortunately Angela noticed and followed my gaze. When her eyes rested on their target she smirked. "Uh-huh, I'm sure that's the reason Bells."

I just sighed, refusing to start an argument over the topic. I felt eyes burning into my back suddenly and had to fight the urge to turn around sharply and look for the source. It was crazy to think I would KNOW that someone was looking at me, wasn't it?

"Well, the one that's staring at you is Edward," Jessica said smugly. The three of them bursting into laughter as a huge blush rose to my cheeks.

"Come on Jess, he probably just knows we're talking about him," I pleaded quietly, trying to move the topic of conversation off of me and back onto the rest of the new family.

"The two blonde-haired ones are Jasper and Rosalie Hale, twins," Mike chimed in, catching onto my attempt at deterring the conversation away from me. I gave him a grateful smile and he returned a smile happily. Of course Mike had been unsuccessfully hiding a crush on me for the longest time and he would always do whatever he could to please me. The feelings I had for him were no stronger than friendship, and I didn't see that changing anytime in the near, or distant, future.

"The other two are Emmett and Alice Cullen," Jessica finished, eager to get to her news. "They're all like together. Emmett and Rosalie. Alice and Jasper. It's so weird. I mean they all live together. It's kind of disturbing really if you think about it. Edward's the only one free." Following her last sentence she gave me a quick wink, although from her enthusiasm delivering the sentence I could tell she'd rather I left him alone so she could go after him.

"Ugh…I do not want him like that Jess, would you just drop it. I just find them fascinating, that's all." I quickly grabbed my pop before it took another tumble off the edge, taking a sip while trying to clear my mind. "Besides, they're not actually related. It's not really that disturbing."

"Whatever you say," Mike muttered depressed, making me cringe internally. I didn't like to make Mike sad, but it was so easy. He saw that my interest was more than just that they were fascinating, but I really didn't want Edward the way they all thought I did… At least, I didn't think I did.

All of a sudden I caught a glimpse of the Cullens and Hales walking…no, dancing or prancing would be a more appropriate term for their movement, out of the cafeteria. I felt a pang of something deep in my heart but I couldn't place it. It shocked and confused me to no end. What was going on? Why would I feel something when they left? This was getting weird, not to mention getting on my nerves. Why was I reacting to these five people so uniquely? What was so special about them? I had to get out of here and clear my head. I was starting to lose too much control over my emotions.

I quickly excused myself from the table, telling my friends that I would talk to them later. I started heading towards my next class, Biology, dumping the remaining contents of my tray in to the trash can as I passed. My mind was running in overtime as I walked to the door of the cafeteria, covering anything and everything it could about the new students. I was so absorbed with this topic that I failed to notice the couple of posters floating slowly toward the ground as I went out the door of the cafeteria.


	3. Biology Mayhem

**A/N: So sorry for the delay in posting. I had the chapter written but was never able to sit down and type it up until now. I will try to have make up for the delay in the next couple days. Thank you to all of my reviewers, enjoy the chapter. Read and Review, please and thank you.**

Chapter 3

I stopped dead as I entered the building where my Biology class was held, my breathe catching in my throat as I stopped dead in my tracks. There, sitting in the chair that was usually vacant next to me sat the magnificent Edward Cullen. "This can so not be happening," I mumbled under my breath as I kept my eyes down, heading to my seat. I felt Edward's eyes on me and I fought against the blush threatening to rise to my cheeks and the strong urge to glance up and meet his gaze. When I plopped down into my seat I saw out of the corner of my eye Edward inconspicuously shuffle his seat as far away from me as possible. I took a deep breath, trying to convince myself to talk to him, my eyes still staring down at the double desk. I needed to know why I was reacting how I was to him and his family, why I was so aware of their action. It wasn't like me to care so much, or to react like this, ever. I needed to talk to with them to figure this entire thing out, but I wasn't sure if I could handle it at the moment.

"My name's Isabella Swan, although I prefer Bella," I managed to spit out quickly as I struggled to turn my head towards him. I caught his eyes and stifled a gasp. They were darker than they had been in the lunchroom, if that was even possible. He remained silent, but refused to drop his gaze, which was the only way I would have been able to look away. His eyes seemed to always have some kind of holding power over me, keeping my eyes locked on his for as long as he looked into them. I needed to look away from his gaze I couldn't think while he stared into my eyes, I could concentrate.

We had only a few minutes before class started and I desperately wanted to sigh and turn away. He held my gaze for another thirty seconds before his eyes shifted to the teacher standing in the front of the room. I quickly inhaled not realizing I had been holding my breath and suddenly one of the glass beakers in the front of the classroom exploded. I jumped nearly a foot in the air as my eyes grew wide with the realization of what I had done, of my failure. I felt the color drain from my face as Br. Banner, our teacher, rushed to retrieve something that would allow him to safely clean up the mess I had just made, granted no one but me knew the mess was the cause of my failure to control my thoughts and feelings.

I stood up shakily, hoping I'd be able to make it out of the classroom without collapsing. "Mr. Banner, I'm not feeling so great, may I go to the nurse?"

Mr. Banner swiftly looked up from his cleanup looking into my colorless face and nodded slightly, quickly returning to his work. All of the students in class stared at me as I left, well all of them except for Edward who was staring at the shattered beaker oddly, and I heard the teacher muttering something about faulty equipment when I passed him. I walked out of the room as quickly as I could for how shaky I was, walking a ways away from the Biology building before I collapsed onto the cold grass. I took several deep breaths while I concentrated on calming my chaotic emotions and clearing my mind.

"Are you alright?" asked a sweet and musical voice from behind me, shocking me out of my attempts to calm myself.

I jumped turning around to face the voice as I went, getting up onto my feet at the same time, startled. I hadn't heard anyone approaching. I tried desperately to calm my speeding heart, thanking god there wasn't anything around were I stood that I could destroy. However, the sight that was in front of me did nothing to help with my heart, or my emotions for that matter. Standing in front of me was little angelic Alice. I merely stared at her, unable to form a coherent thought, unable to think of even one word to say.

The smile that had been present on Alice's face slowly disappeared. "Really, are you ok? What are you doing sitting out here all alone?"

"I…well I was…" I stammered struggling for something, anything to say and quickly looking away from her, knowing it would make things much easier. I had refused to look in her eyes and now that I was no longer looking at her period I was able to think fairly well. I turned my head back to her slowly and inhaled deeply hoping I would be able to keep a calm facade.

"I wasn't feeling well, but I didn't want to be stuck in the stuffy nurse's office. By the way, what are you doing out here, shouldn't you be in class?" I had to blurt out the question quickly before I lost the small bit of courage I had gained from looking away.

Alice shrugged gracefully and smiled again, obviously realizing the reason why I hadn't said anything at first. "I saw you walking alone out here so I decided to come out and see if there was anything wrong and if there was anything I could to do help if something was wrong."

I couldn't help but get caught up in Alice's sing-song voice and small angelic face unable to stop a smile from popping onto my face and a feeling of ease washing over me. "There was just a little, um…accident in Biology. I just freaked a bit and needed to get out of the room. Thanks for checking on me though Alice. My name's Bella by the way. Why don't you head back to class, I'll be fine."

She examined me, seeming to judge what the right thing to do was. "Would you like to talk about it, about anything that is Bella? I'm sure you had a reason for overreacting. You can talk to me, I'll listen and I won't judge you, promise."

Alice's beaming smile and bubbly personality made it hard for me to not just blurt out my thoughts. I took a step back, trying to resist being drawn into the family's weird charm and irresistible beauty. I'd been trying so hard to keep my secret just that, a secret, from everyone that I wasn't about to blurt it out to these new kids. If they could help me and understand my secret then I would need to know that for certain before I told them anything. I did not need them thinking I was a freak, especially Edward, although I wasn't sure why I felt that way.

"Thanks for the offer Alice, but I really should be going."

"Nice to meet you Bella, I hope you feel better," Alice chirped happily.

"Thanks," I mumbled turning sharply on my heels and stalking off.

Against my better judgment I headed to the parking lot and jumped into my truck, deciding the only place I wanted to be at the moment was home. I couldn't handle seeing any of the Cullens or Hales anymore today. I would tell Charlie I felt too sick to remain at school if it was brought up tonight. I knew it was lame and I was sure I would still get into trouble for skipping, but I just couldn't stay at school. Hopefully by saying I was too sick to stay at school I wouldn't get into too much trouble. I took the long way home so I would be able to concentrate on driving, not all the thoughts flying crazily around my brain, and I would also have less free time at home, meaning less time my mind could wander.

When I got home I decided that getting ahead with laundry would probably be a good idea and a safe thing to do. I read one of my multiple books in between loads, picking one that I could easily loose myself in, forgetting reality. When it was time to make dinner I decided that lasagna would taste delicious for dinner. A couple of minutes after I had taken dinner out to cool, I heard Charlie's cruiser pulling into the driveway. When I heard the front door open and close I cut a piece of lasagna for each of us, inhaling deeply, hoping that Charlie did not know what I had done at school today.

"Hey dad," I welcomed him from the kitchen, raising my voice so it was loud enough that he could hear me by the front door. "Dinner's ready, I made lasagna."

Charlie sauntered in to the kitchen, disapproval masking his face. Uh oh, I think I know what that's about. He plopped down onto his chair while I slowly sat down across from him, setting a plate of lasagna out in front of both of us as I did. I took a deep breath as I settled into my seat, preparing for the worst.

"Was lasagna a bad idea dad?" I asked hesitantly, a hint of fear prevalent in my voice. Hopefully he wouldn't notice it. I knew what was going on, but I thought that pretending to be oblivious to what was wrong would be the best way to approach this. Hopefully I wasn't wrong.

"What were you thinking Isabella Marie Swan? Ditching school on the first day, the middle of the day no less." Charlie's voice was nearly acidic, disappointment and anger flooding it.

"I didn't feel well," I mumbled, looking down at my dinner so I wouldn't have to see my father's disappointed and angry glare.

"Then you should have gone to the nurse's, not just leave without telling anyone." Charlie's voice seemed slightly calmer but I still didn't dare a glance up at his face.

I sighed quietly not sure how to make this right. "I know dad, I'm sorry. I just felt so terrible that I needed to get home, I wasn't thinking straight at all."

Charlie sighed deeply, seeming to think things over. "I'm sorry Bells but I'm going to have to ground you for a week…and don't you dare pull something like this again, you hear me?" I nodded mutely and knew that with the use of my nickname that Charlie was no longer furious with me, still mad, but not furious. Charlie started to eat his dinner while I merely picked at mine, not really sure if I could manage to eat anything at the moment. I had lost most of my appetite with what had just happened. Although it could have been worse, much worse, I suppose. I should be glad it wasn't, but I just felt extremely guilty for letting my dad down, nothing else really seemed to get through to me at the moment except that guilt.

Dinner continued on silently, Charlie not asking me how my first day went, well the part of the day that I was present anyway. I didn't blame him although I was secretly glad, I didn't want to have to talk about the Cullens.

After dinner I decided that I just wanted to collapse in bed. I did not want to be conscious anymore, some first day of school this had been. I went upstairs and hopped in the shower, letting the warm water wash over me, relaxing all the muscles in my body and clearing out my still chaotic mind. After I had gotten out of the shower and dried off, leaving my hair wet but brushed, I changed into my comfy warm pajamas. I walked across the hall to my room and climbed into bed, curling myself into a ball under my huge comforter. The last thing that my mind showed me before I drifted into unconsciousness was Edward's god-like face, a dangerous looking smile playing on his lips and his bronze hair as beautiful as ever. I fell into a deep sleep, allowing my dreams to overpower me.


	4. Return

Chapter 4

The week which I was grounded passed by fairly uneventfully. The Cullens were as beautiful and handsome as ever, but I refused to look at them or pay them the least bit of attention, except for a fleeting glance once a day. The quick glance in their direction each day showed me that Edward was not in school. I was glad and yet disappointed at the same time, which shocked me. I knew why I was glad, the only Cullen in any of my classes was Edward, and they seemed to only cause me trouble, but I didn't really know why I felt any sense of disappointment. Maybe I missed him, although I refused to linger on that particular thought, besides, he hadn't said a word to me, and I had barely said all of two words to him. Maybe I just really wanted to figure out what was up with him and his family, there was clearly something different about them, their skin, their eyes, the way they caused me to react whenever I did so much as look at them. I hoped that my second theory was more on the mark, if it was then maybe they could help me with my secret. Maybe I would be able to confide in them.

Edward was gone for two weeks from the time of the beaker incident in Biology, although his sister Alice was continually trying to talk to me during the second week of his absence, I had no clue why. I successfully managed to avoid her the whole time even though it was a rather hard task because of her rather unique personality. She was constantly smiling and not just any old smile, one of those smiles that made everyone else around her smile back and forget their worries. She was very upbeat and always seemed to be happy and joyful whenever I caught an unwanted fleeting glance of the strange pixie-like girl out of the corner of my eyes. I desperately wanted Edward to come back to school, but at the same time I desperately wanted him to stay away. I was so conflicted on this topic that I always attempted to make my mind stray away from it if it started to seep through, keeping it out of my thoughts, keeping all of the Cullen's out of my thoughts, made things easier.

I had way too much free time on my hands the week I was grounded. I got ahead with my homework and re-read a few of my all-time favorite books. I cooked dinner each and every night for Charlie and myself, being on my best behavior so he would not have any reason for punishing me further. Once I was ungrounded and allowed to actually step foot outside of my house, other than school of course since I had to go to school grounded or not, I spent most of my free time hanging out with Jessica and Angela at their houses and in Port Angeles. I also managed to see a movie with Jessica, Angela and Mike, although it was kind of awkward, I got the feeling that Jessica had a thing for Mike, while he was still trying to get me to like him and go out with him. It wasn't all that enjoyable most of the time, but it was completely successful in one sense at least, it kept my mind off of the Cullens, plus it was always nice to get out of my house sometimes.

After two weeks had passed, Edward reclaimed the seat that had been vacant during lunch, the seat by his adopted brothers and sisters. When I caught my fleeting glance for the day I saw the bronze-haired beauty sitting with his family and my heart sped up considerably. A stack of trays toppled to the ground and I blushed ducking behind Angela, who was standing next to me, hoping that no one in the lunchroom would notice me or my bright blush. Didn't need them randomly blaming me, whether it was my fault or not.

"Come on, it seems like Mike and Jessica have something to tell us," Jessica sighed grabbing my sleeve and dragging me towards the forming line by the food, ignoring the fallen trays on the floor and the fact that anything had happened to them. I followed Angela's gaze and smiled slightly when I saw my two friends nearly falling off their seats with excitement.

I grabbed a tray of food, hardly paying attention to what I grabbed, and a bottle of water. I paid and walked slowly over to my seated friends. Angela had beaten me to the table meaning that all three of my friends were already there, she looked just as excited as Jessica and Mike did and I groaned internally. I cursed my three friends silently in my head, they set this up, a surprise, I hate surprises, and they were all in on it. I dropped my tray lightly on the table and plopped down into an empty seat at the table angrily, glaring at each of my friends in turn.

"Alright, what is it, what's the surprise?" I asked, cringing at the word surprise, annoyance prevalent in my voice. Mike excitedly slipped me a half piece of paper and I gasped as my jaw dropped. I quickly composed myself and stared at the invitation, a party this Saturday, hosted by the Cullens and Hales at their house. I knew immediately that Mike had given the piece of paper to me instead of Angela or Jessica because he wanted me to go with him along with the fact that there was no way that Jessica and Angela was going to miss this party for anything. It could be horrible the worst party ever, or it could be the best party ever hosted, and they would be there to either enjoy it or make fun of it. I just stared blankly at the invitation, people I wanted to avoid most but also wanted to see the most throwing a party. What was I going to do? I quickly felt a burning sensation on my back, as if a pair of eyes was trying to see through me, or into me and I whipped around to meet the awaiting eyes.

I met the topaz colored eyes of the god-like Edward Cullen. It was obvious that he had been the one staring at me, he was sitting there completely stiff, and he looked almost like a statue. Had he gotten contacts? I thought this as my heart sped up and my mind went into overdrive. Uh-oh I groaned internally as I saw Edward's uneaten tray of food fly half way across the room. The lunchroom immediately quieted down, turning into silence. Everyone stared at the Cullens table while the Cullens glance's all flickered to Edward and followed his gaze to me so quickly that I barely saw it happen. I managed to break away from Edward's gaze and looked down at my tray. The cafeteria broke out in murmurs, spreading rumors no doubt. I slowed my beating heart ever so slightly and quickly cleared my mind.

"I'll see you guys after school," I mumbled to my friends hopping up, leaving my untouched tray of food forgotten, and grabbed my bag. I nearly ran out of the cafeteria, looking straight ahead as I walked. As soon as I was out the door I tripped, catching myself right before I fell flat on my face. Of course I would trip, klutzy me. At least I was still on my feet, for once.

I had gone directly to Biology even though I would have to wait outside until the teacher unlocked the door, allowing me to enter. Oh well, I had nothing better to do anyway and it meant time away from everyone for a bit, Cullens included. I toyed around with ideas for Saturday, going through multiple scenarios in my mind. It would probably be safe to assume that the whole school had been invited, there had been no specific names on the invitation I had seen but I really wasn't sure if I even wanted to go. Maybe it would be ok, if I went with my friends. Besides, they'd probably be disappointed if I didn't go all of them, not just Mike.

I sighed internally, confused trying to decide what I was going to do about this party. I continued to sort through my thoughts on the matter until Mr. Banner walked up shocked to see me, well shocked at the fact a student was actually waiting to be let into his classroom, and unlocked the door. I walked to my seat as I continued my thinking about Saturday until the class started to filter in and Mike pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Hey Bella, you alright? You left lunch pretty fast," Mike's concerned voice floated to me, seeming to come from right next to me. I looked up at him as I snapped out of my thoughts. Mike was in this class too although he sat a few desks behind me. I heard the chair next to me move, signaling Edward's arrival as I answered Mike's question.

"Yeah, I'm fine just got a little freaked." Luckily I was only half-lying so Mike couldn't tell that there was more to the story than the little I had just told him. Lying wasn't my strong point so I always had to try to avoid it, or use half-truths so I didn't give myself away.

"Alright…" he answered hesitantly, glancing from Edward to me and back again a few times before walking away to his seat. I sighed wondering what he had been thinking about and turned back around. I faced the front of the classroom, my eyes resting on nothing in particular.

"So…" a fluent melodic voice came to me from the opposite side that Mike had just been talking to me. I slowly turned my head to look at Edward, the source of the beautiful voice. I refused to meet his eyes though, knowing what would happen if I did. I just looked at him expectantly and waited for him to continue.

"Yes," I prodded after a length of silence in which he seemed to be unwilling to continue what he had started.

He seemed to struggle internally with himself before he answered me in that same musical and unbelievable voice of his. "My name's Edward and I apologize for my behavior before, it was highly uncalled for."

I was stunned at his words and couldn't stop myself from looking deep into his eyes, trying to understand where his words were coming from. He seemed so different two weeks ago. "I'm Bella…" I replied trailing off as my breath caught and my mind spun as our eyes met.

A smile stretched across his face at my response, reaching his eyes and making his face even more gorgeous. Was that even possible…? His smile was breathtaking at the least and I couldn't stop a small smile from forming on my face in response, a weird unknown sensation entering my stomach. I couldn't place the feeling I now had in my stomach but it felt strange and oddly comforting.

"So are you planning on coming to our family's party Saturday?" He asked the question so casually but with a small hint of curiosity in his voice, and I found it harder than it should have been to answer his question. My mind was just completely jumbled up and I couldn't think of a coherent answer for the simple question, none of my scrambled thoughts seemed to be coherent at the moment. It was worse than when I had been caught in Alice's gaze. I felt a shock of surprise as I heard my mind quickly compare my gaze with Edward to the gaze I had shared with Alice. Thankfully I didn't break anything this time as Edward dropped my gaze, unwillingly I might add.

"I'm not sure really," I managed to choke out once Edward had dropped his gaze.

"Oh, well I think Alice wants you to come."

"Wait, what? Alice?" I questioned in a whisper, confusion swirling around in my head, replacing the scrambled thoughts from his gaze. Alice wanted me to come to the party. I had talked to her that one time, I was extremely confused now.

Edward looked back at me with a fresh and stunning smile on his face. "She told me that she met you two weeks ago, after you left class early." All I could manage was a slight nod, still confused as ever. "Well I think you should come," Edward said smugly as the teacher began today's lesson. I managed to pull my attention away from Edward, with much difficulty, and pay full attention to today's lecture. It was extremely difficult to keep my attention from returning to Edward but I managed it throughout the class period.

I would figure Saturday out later. Edward…well, I guess I would worry about him when I absolutely had to. I couldn't think of anything better to do at the moment…


	5. Party Time

**A/N: So very sorry for the long break in updates. I had a lot going on this weekend on top of having an extremely difficult time writing it although I'm not sure why. I knew what I wanted to write I just couldn't get it to flow from my mind onto paper, or rather the computer, lol.** **It's longer than the others so that's a plus at least. Well I hope you enjoy the chapter :). Thank you to each and every one of my reviewers**, **you guys rock. Read and Review Please and Thank You. :)**

**Chapter 5**

I stared at my dull reflection in the mirror that resided in my bedroom, wondering whether or not I should change into something else. I was wearing a pair of dark tight-fitting jeans and a light brown collared round scooped-neck blouse. It was Saturday night and I was waiting for Jessica to come pick me up for the Cullens party. I had grudgingly agreed to attend the party when Jessica, Mike, and Angela decided to continually pester me throughout the school day until I agreed to their demands. We were all riding together, against my wishes. My friends thought that if they were to let me drive myself that I wouldn't go. Tonight was definitely not something I was looking forward, dreading would be a much more appropriate word.

"Bella, get down here. Your friends are outside waiting for you!" I heard Charlie yell up at me. Of course, lazy as ever, he'd rather yell than walk the short way to my room. I rolled my eyes as I hollered back down to him.

"Coming dad, cool your jets!" I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my purse as I headed downstairs, silently cursing my friends for what they were unknowingly putting me through. I stopped by my dad and pecked him on the check, a slight blush rising to his cheeks at the slight physical contact. "I won't be out too late, bye dad."

"Be careful Bells and have fun," Charlie called over his shoulder as I flew out the door. Of course I tripped about four times on my way to the car, but who's counting. I would have taken it as an omen if I hadn't been such a klutzy person in the first place.

I carefully climbed into Jessica's car, slipping into the back with Mike, just my luck, perfect start to the perfect night…not. "Hey guys." I sat as far towards the car door as I could, the excitement on Mike's face was extremely obvious and I wished I could just drift off into another world for the duration of the party.

"Hey Bella," each of my friends replied in turn.

The ride to the Cullens was rather uncomfortable for me with Mike constantly trying to whisper things to me and making me wish that I wasn't able to hear him. I of course ignored each and every comment, pretending I couldn't hear a word he was saying, although Mike refused to take the hint. The short drive seemed to take hours upon hours and I was a little more than slightly annoyed by the time we found the drive. The only reason we were able to find it was because the hidden drive was illuminated with dozens of different kinds of lights. I was amazed at how far back in the woods their house was, how humongous and gorgeous it was. It was made almost entirely of glass and even in the dim light that the Cullens had placed outside, the beauty of the house was obvious and breathtaking. I could hardly imagine the house being any prettier in the daylight.

The four of us hopped out of the car, Jessica and Angela giggling with excitement. Mike seemed to be stuck by my side like a puppy dog, nearly bouncing up and down for joy. I on the other hand had a very composed and fake smile plastered on my face, inside I was dreading what was to come and desperately wanted Mike to get away from me. I wished they had let me drive myself, that way I would have only had to stay for a couple of minutes or at least I would have been able to leave whenever I wanted.

The front room of the Cullen Manor was HUGE, well huge is an understatement. It seemed like most of the walls that had been or would have been on the first floor of the house had been removed to make one big room. There was a dance floor in the middle of the room, about half-way filled with classmates dancing. It seemed like the whole junior and senior class was here, along with most of the freshman and sophomore class. The lights were a mixture of every color imaginable giving the room a weird glow. There was a DJ in front of the dance floor and speakers spread out randomly around the room blasting Thanks for the Memories by the Fall Out Boys. Jessica and Angela immediately headed over to our group of friends, well the ones who weren't dancing already that is, leaving Mike and me by ourselves. They were standing off in a corner talking, I was sure, rather loudly to be heard over the music. I just wanted to hide in my own corner by myself and wait for this horrible night to be over.

"Mike why don't you go with Jessica and Angela," I practically screamed over the music to be heard. I really hoped he'd take the hint that I didn't want him around at the moment, but of course he didn't, he never did so why would now be any different.

"No way, you need some company too. It's not a party if you're all by yourself," Mike's loud reply floated towards me, although I barely heard him over the blaring music. I felt a growing irritation in the pit of my stomach and I forced more effort into keeping my face composed the way that I wanted it. With the music blaring I was pretty much stuck with whatever feelings I had, I couldn't concentrate on relaxing, it was just too loud.

I glanced around the room and quickly noted that it was remarkably hard to pick out any one person in particular, except for any one of the Cullens of course. My gaze lingered slightly longer on the two Cullens I had not previously seen. The male had blonde slicked back hair and looked no older than his mid-20's. He seriously looked like he could be a movie star, a very famous movie star for looks alone at that. That one had to be the Cullen's father, I couldn't recall hearing his name being mentioned. The female that I saw was as beautiful as the rest of her family with her caramel colored hair flowing freely around her friendly heart-shaped face. They both had the same pale skin as their children, the same eye color, and bruises underneath. They were nothing alike and yet at the same time they all seemed so identical.

My eyes flickered towards Mike, quickly formulating a plan to get him away from me for the time being. "Hey Mike, I'm thirsty mind getting me a drink?" I had noticed a table with some sort of fluid on it and that was the best plan I could come up with so quickly. At least this would give me some time with my thoughts, or at least whatever ones I could muster up with the stupid music being so loud. I leaned against the wall considering moving into the large crowd so that Mike would not be able to find me as easily. I sighed lightly, barely able to hear it even though it was my own sigh. This was insane, one of the many reasons I hated parties, I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't keep my emotions or thoughts in check. I was already on the verge of breaking down and I could not think of a reason to get Mike to stay away from me. This party was going to end horribly wrong, I could just feel it.

"Here you go Bella. I'm not exactly sure what it is." Mike had returned without me noticing, I was too busy trying to concentrate on anything else but what was around me. I quickly thanked him and took the drink he had brought me noting that he didn't bring one for himself. Think Bella, how do I get Mike to leave me alone. The smile on his face was huge, obviously he was ecstatic to be alone, well for all intensive purposes considering we were the only two were we stood, and it was all I could do to keep my face composed, to not glare daggers at him. He was after all still my friend and I had very few of them, no matter how hard they were for me to live with. I didn't particularly want to end this friendship although I supposed if I had to I would.

I saw Mike's hand shoot out toward me and if I hadn't been leaning against the wall still I probably would have jumped backwards five feet. I had no idea what he was doing and the next words out of his lips were definitely not anything I had been expecting, although I probably should have been. It was inevitable that this would happen and I should have known it. I guess I just didn't want to admit it to myself.

"Come on, let's dance." I could see the eagerness on Mike's face hear it in his muted voice. He was nearly jumping up and down for joy, although he very well could have been for all I knew because I was too focused on his face to notice. My carefully composed face was completely shot. My mouth was hanging open, my eyes wide in disbelief. I was like that for a full minute and the expression on Mike's face remained the same. Oh boy, what had I gotten myself in to? When I finally managed to get my face in order, my mouth snapping shut and my eyes closing up some, I managed to choke out an answer. I was surprised that Mike could hear it over the music.

"I'm sorry Mike, I don't dance." I was obnoxiously pissed at this point, annoyance flowing through me as well. Most of the confusion and the shock I had been feeling after his question had been replaced with panic. I was so off the deep end. Why couldn't Mike ever take a hint? I was so very close to blowing up and that was the very last thing that I wanted.

"Come on it'll be fun, promise." Why wouldn't he just drop it, go ask someone else to dance? Better yet he should go get a crush on someone else, someone who actually might like him back. There was no chance of that person being me. I didn't want to hurt him but I felt nothing but friendship towards him.

"Really Mike, I'm not going to be dancing, not now or anytime soon." Annoyance and anger were flowing out with my voice. I had no clue if he was choosing to ignore it or if he was completely oblivious to this fact.

"But it'll…"

"Mike I will not dance with you, I am not going to change my mind. Go ask Jessica to dance I'm sure she'll say yes." I screamed louder than anything that either of us had said so far. I had blown, which was not good, not good at all. It had almost sounded like I had commanded him to ask Jessica to dance. I hadn't meant it as a command so why would it come out that way? I was just so angry and annoyed with him at the moment. Getting him away from me was the only thing that I could think of or that I could concentrate on, nothing else seemed to matter at the moment. I couldn't rein in my anger, couldn't compose my face, something was going to happen soon, it always did when I got like this.

I was barely able to comprehend Mike turning away from me and heading off in the opposite direction as logic and reason took a back seat to absolutely everything else in my mind. I saw him walk mechanically towards Jessica and her group of friends and I felt my jaw drop involuntarily. I barely realized what was going on as Mike must have listened to me and gone over to ask Jessica to dance. I saw her jump up and down a couple times and follow Mike out onto the dance floor. He seemed to still be moving somewhat mechanically, like he didn't know what he was doing while Jessica skipped merrily along behind nice.

Every single emotion that I had felt before Mike had left remained in my system as confusion and shock were added to the mix. I was already overloaded and I nearly keeled over as the new emotions swarmed around me. My eyesight barely registered the lights flickering on and off and the panic stricken faces occupying the room. My ears didn't realize the few screams and yelps that escaped some people's lips or the speakers cutting in and out. I couldn't feel myself couldn't feel my body touching the wall behind me. Why oh why couldn't I have forced my friends to let me drive myself? Why did I have to let them talk me in to coming to this retched party?

Thankfully no one saw me in the corner of the large room, hidden in the shadows as I tried unsuccessfully to calm myself, at least I didn't think they did. I faintly heard a quiet voice reach my ears apologizing for the turn of events and suggesting that everyone return home. I panicked slightly again thinking of Jessica, Angela, and Mike looking for me so that they could leave. They were my friends after all and I would like to think they wouldn't leave without me considering they were my ride home. I saw the lights flicker once more and remain on as the speakers continued to fade in and out and the glass walls started to vibrate ever so slightly. I just repeated stop freaking out over and over in my head hoping that this night would be over soon. I shoved my eyes closed and pursed my lips as I tried my hardest to concentrate on anything else except what was going on around me.

I was so lost in my own thoughts and my own agony that I didn't realize that the room had been cleared out except for the Cullens. I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder and I jumped a foot in the air. The speakers were finally quiet although the glass continued to vibrate. They must have cut the music. My eyes were wild and frantic as I stared at whoever had just touched me. The face in front of me held worry in his eyes and his pale skin looked odd so close up in the lights around the room. His blonde hair was short and he seemed to be genuinely worried about me.

"Are you alright?" a fluid and inhuman voice asked me. It sounded odd after the blaring music that had been pounding through the room. I didn't say anything just stared blankly at the angel-like figure in front of me. This had to be the doctor. He had the bruises under his eyes like the rest of his family. "Esme please turn the lights on."

Hardly a second passed before the multi-colored lights were shut off and I was forced to blink rapidly as a blinding light filled the quiet room. All seven of the Cullens were in the room staring at me. Great, I'm sure I'll be able to calm down with all them staring at me. I remained silent unsure of what I should say or do. I was frozen on the spot and frozen in my panic which really was not the best thing after what had happened. I could do a lot worse than I had just done if I didn't get under control soon.

"We aren't going to hurt you," a beautiful and kind voice flowed to me as the other female, who I figured was Esme came into my immediate view and took her place next to her husband. I relaxed slightly, it was hard not to with Esme standing there. Her appearance radiated acceptance and comfort.

"I'm alright," I croaked. It was a lie, but luckily my voice was convincing enough because of everything that had been going on. I felt myself relax more, not just my posture but everything. Everything I was feeling seemed to calm down and I was beginning to feel less overwhelmed. It was unnatural almost and seemed like I was not in control of what was happening.

"Would you like a drink? Why don't you come to the kitchen so you can have a seat?"

I was stunned as Esme's words flowed towards me. Both of them were smiling welcomingly at me, their teeth glimmering in the light and I couldn't help but nod. Esme and her husband led me into the kitchen, the rest of the family slowly following behind. Once I was in a seat with some water set out in front of me I turned toward the family member that I still could not put a name to.

"My name is Carlisle. I'm sure you know the rest of my family from school and this is Esme, my wife." I just stared at him, mesmerized by his beauty and his eyes. I had stupidly looked right into them, stupid as ever.

"Was that you're doing back there?" My head shot towards the source of the voice, my eyes greatly enlarging. My eyes settled onto sweet Esme's face. It took all of my strength not to run away or jump up. I already hated the way I had reacted, I really did not need them claiming I had done that, whether I had or not. I felt waves of calm hit me and I became confused wondering where they had come from. I had not been feeling calm nor had I been trying to make myself feel calm.

"It's alright if you did Bella. We won't judge you." I was shocked by Carlisle's words but continued to remain silent. I was too surprised to talk. Too surprised to either admit or deny what they were saying. I glanced up at the five children and noticed that they were standing back a ways looking on expectantly. I glanced back towards Carlisle and managed a very slight nod, admitting to my guilt. I didn't see any reason to deny it. They seemed to know that I had done it. I saw Carlisle and Esme exchange a quick glance and then resettle their gazes on me. I glanced behind them and was shocked when I only saw two people standing there, Alice and Jasper. I hadn't heard the others leave and I had seen them standing there only a few seconds prior to Carlisle and Esme's exchange. I was so confused.

"Bella, I believe that we have a lot to talk about."

All I could manage to do was nod at Carlisle as I wondered what the hell was going on and what the Cullens could possibly know. Maybe they would enlighten me as to why they were so different than everyone else, I could hope at least. I sat still in my chair as I waited expectantly for Carlisle to continue hoping that I had finally found someone who could understand what I had gone through, what I was still going through. Maybe I had even found people who would be able to help me control whatever this was, could help me understand it and live with it. Who knew, but I was so very close to finding out and I desperately wanted that. Boy was I in for a shock.


	6. Special? As if

**A/N: So extremely sorry this took so long…I feel absolutely horrible. I've just been so swamped lately. I'm going to try my best to get the next chapter out in the next few days although I have a paper due so I really can't promise anything like I want to. Apologies for this chapter and in advance if it takes me longer than I want for the next chapter. Thank you so much to my reviewers. I got so many I was so happy :). Well on with the chapter Read and Review Please and Thank You. :).**

**And I guess I really should have put a disclaimer in saying I don't own the Twilight Saga, but I never remember it just seems so silly and obvious to have to put it. So…**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Twilight Saga or any other book for that matter, *sigh* maybe someday.**

Chapter 6

I was sitting at the beautiful, and huge, wooden table in what I assumed was the dining room with Esme and Carlisle seated across from me. Alice and Jasper were seated to the left of them holding hands under the table. I didn't know where the rest of the family was and I was too worried to care. I just glanced between each of the Cullens that were present in the room waiting for someone to speak. When no one seemed willing to start the conversation I took it upon myself to begin the inevitable. I might as well get this over with I thought gloomily to myself.

"How did you know?" I pointed the question at Carlisle. He seemed to be the one who was in charge so to speak.

It took several seconds before any of the Cullens did so much as blink an eye until Carlisle finally sighed slightly and began to talk. "It was Jasper and Edward who knew what was going on. It's somewhat complicated to explain and not particularly necessary at the moment. Perhaps you could explain to us what you know?"

I stared at him blankly. They wanted me to explain something I didn't particularly know that well myself, well this should be interesting. I wanted to feel annoyed at the four people sitting across from me, I wanted to feel a wide range of things, but for some unknown reason I could be nothing but calm. My gaze quickly turned to a mix between curiosity and fear, although I couldn't actually feel them, I tried desperately to compose my face as well as possible.

"I think you should be the one going first. I'm not a freak and I prefer to not be seen that way, which is probably what will happen if I randomly jump in. Besides, I really don't know that I'm safe from you and your family."

I saw Carlisle's mouth pull up in a bright smile. "Of course, I am sorry. We really do mean you no harm. I merely got carried away. I am terribly interested, I enjoy learning new things and perhaps we may be able to help you out as well." He paused then, as if waiting for me to say something. I refused to speak again for the time being, just sat stiffly in my chair, staring at Carlisle waiting for him to say more. I couldn't help but compare my stillness to theirs. I sat in my chair as still as I could, but I still blinked, still fidgeted, I couldn't sit completely still. It was nothing compared to Jasper and Alice who were sitting there completely still looking like statues. I didn't know how they were doing it, how they looked like two statues carved from stone, unmoving, unblinking.

"Well Bella you possess some qualities that are similar to a few of my children's, Jasper, Alice, and Edward to be precise…"

"Carlisle," Jasper interrupted snapping his head towards his father, "I don't think that's entirely necessary." If I had to put a word to his expression it would probably be one of confusion and worry, his voice was practically emotionless.

I felt the calmness leave my body and irritation take its place. "What does this have to do with anything and how am I supposed to get home since my ride left?"

"Calm down Bella," Esme replied calmly and gracefully walked over to my side. She smiled down at me and I felt a wave of calmness envelope me again. "We will give you a ride home. Do you need anything to drink? Some water perhaps?"

I just shook my head mutely and glanced up at her. I caught a glance of her smile and couldn't help but smile back. Esme just seemed so kind and I couldn't imagine not returning her beautiful smiles. I also couldn't imagine her doing harm to anyone, but then again all I had to do was think of the rest of her family. Emmett alone was enough to worry me for ten lifetimes and then some. Instead of returning to her seat next to her husband Esme took a seat next to me. She kept some distance not wanting to frighten me, but I was pretty sure that she was also trying to comfort me.

I returned my questioning, but calm gaze to Carlisle as he continued on with what he had been saying. "Hmm… How to word this…" Carlisle pondered quietly trying to read my face for my reaction to his words or for anything that may lay hidden there.

"I'll start!" I jumped slightly, my head whipping towards the source of the sing-songy voice. Alice, of course I should have known. She had melted out and was nearly bouncing up and down in her seat. I felt my eyes rise as I took in her bouncing form. I saw Jasper whisper something to her but I was pretty sure she ignored it as she started into her story perform anyone else in her family could protest.

"Edward, Jasper, and I all have different abilities that set us aside from others. For instance, I can see the future, when people have decided upon it. My visions are dependent upon the choices that people make and therefore change when they change their mind. They are very subjective."

Alice sounded like she was practically singing with joy as she told me this. I just stared at her my mouth hanging wide open. Alice was one weird person, not because of the visions. I could never think she was weird for that. I had my own secret, so similar and yet so different from hers. She struck me as weird because of her enthusiasm and how she portrayed it. Hmm…maybe weird didn't quite cover it.

"And this has what to do with me?" I asked kindly once I had composed my face. I was going to play dumb, no need for me to spill what I could do. No need to even let on that I knew I could do something similar at this point. Yes, playing dumb seemed my best option for the moment, and my safest.

I heard a sigh and looked back towards Carlisle. "Well you see, Jasper here can feel the emotions around him and Edward is able to read minds." I was shocked and scared by this revelation about Edward. If he could read minds then wouldn't that mean that he would already know what I could do? No, I couldn't think that way.

I somehow managed to keep all my emotions in check as I continued to pretend I had no idea what was going on. "Ok, so was your point in telling me all of this to freak me out? It's not normal for someone to be able to do those things." I felt a smile come to my lips as I imagined the rest of the town hearing this, not that I would ever tell anyone. I knew what it was like to be the subject of everyone's accusation when it came to this kind of stuff.

"Bella, I felt everything you were feeling tonight. It's…strange…for a person to feel so much, to feel so strongly. Edward heard Mike's mind after you talked to him and he only thought about doing what you told him to do. There's something special about you." Jasper's calm voice flooded my brain and I could do nothing more than stare at him incredulously as he said I was special.

Special? Right, I've been called a lot of things by the people I grew up with, weird, a freak, psychotic by a few people, but never anything even remotely similar to special. It was always the opposite side of the spectrum. If it wasn't for, I assumed, Jasper's calming effect on me I probably would have started laughing at his words. As it was I could only stare at him with my mouth hanging open and my eyes filled with incredulity.

"Bella, are you alright?" Alice chirped worriedly, hopping up and starting to walk towards me.

"Special…You're kidding right?" I managed to scoff when I saw Alice moving towards me. I couldn't play dumb any longer, not with the special remark. "I've been called many things in my life but special is very far from one of them. Not to mention special not being the right word." I pushed myself up from the table wanting nothing more at the moment than to be far away from this crazy house.

A frozen hand touched my shoulder as I spun away from the table causing me to jump nearly a foot in the air, sending the beautiful centerpiece on the table flying against the wall. I stopped cold and slowly spun back around to face the Cullen's.

"Shit…" I muttered to no one in particular. This was just my luck making something bizarre happen in front of these people, these strangers. It had been Alice who had stopped me and I wondered briefly how she had reached me so quickly when she had been on the other side of the table seconds ago. I looked at Alice and my eyes got wide. Alice was looking at me with a mixture of understanding and pity.

"We want to help you Bella," Alice said soothingly. "When I talked to you that day at school I saw what had happened to you in class, I had a vision. I was trying to check on you, trying to make sure you were okay."

I raised an eyebrow slightly at Alice's revelation and opened my mouth to reply. I quickly shut it as I realized that I really didn't know what to say or what I wanted to say let alone do. Alice seemed so nice and friendly, I had thought that since the first day I'd met her, but this wasn't something to take so lightly. I bit my bottom lip as I turned over idea after idea of what to do. In all the time it took for me to decide the Cullen's stood stock still waiting for my answer. I wondered briefly again how they could stand so still. There was something different about this family. I just couldn't put my finger on it, something different about all of them and not just Alice, Jasper, and Edward.

"Look, it's really nice of all of you to try and be kind to me, but I have friends," however few they may be, I added silently in my head. "I would appreciate it if you could take me home now. I don't want my dad to get mad at me for being home too late."

I would have started walking off if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't know where I needed to go to make it to a car. I was shocked when Jasper was the next one to speak, he sounded calm, his voice soothing. It seemed odd coming from his him, when he almost always looked like he was in pain.

"All of us can understand not fitting in Bella. We can all understand being different than those around you. You seem…hesitant around your friends. I'm sure they don't know what you can do, and if they do they probably call you crazy because of it. But we know what you can do, and we understand. We all just want to help you. Maybe we can even help you control it. You don't seem to have much control over any of it."

I felt my body stiffen. This is what I wanted, someone to help me figure this curse out…or gift I guess depending on how you look at it. But I didn't know these people. I didn't know whether I could trust them. They seemed to genuinely want to help me but how could I know for sure? I sighed while I debated with myself. What the hell am I supposed to do? This is so tempting, and yet…

"I'm sorry Jasper. All of you, but I don't know you. You're strangers and I really don't think that I can handle this right now. This isn't something to be taken lightly. I don't know what you really want, if you have some ulterior motive. Could someone please take me home?"

Honesty seemed like the best policy. There seemed no denying the fact that I did in fact have some kind of ability so I might as well not deny it. I just wanted to get home, to be able to sleep on this. I didn't want to have to talk about this right now. How could they expect me to?

"Of course Bella, follow me and I'll take you home now. Just remember what we talked about." Carlisle's warm smile and bright kind voice caught me off guard.

"Um…Thanks and I will...."

Alice spun to face Carlisle and started to protest. "But Carlisle…" Alice whined, although her voice was still smooth and beautiful. She was clearly disappointed in how this had turned out.

"Alice, this is her decision. We cannot force ourselves upon her. Give her time and space," interrupted the stern voice of Carlisle. He was frowning ever so slightly at Alice.

Alice sighed in reply and turned back to look at me. "Hope to see you soon Bella. It was nice to see you again."

I mutely followed Carlisle out to the garage and stopped dead in my tracks as he opened the door. There were a handful of obnoxiously expensive and fast cars sitting in the garage. I stared wide-eyed at each of them in turn.

"All these are yours and your families'," I gasped quickly, shocked by all the expensive cars. I knew that one of them had the silver Volvo since the Cullens came to school in it, but this was ridiculous. I recovered from my shock and quickly followed Carlisle into what I assumed was his Mercedes as he chuckled and answered in the affirmative to my question.

The ride back to my house was quiet and I was eternally thankful to Carlisle for that little detail. I really needed to think things through. So many things had happened in one night and I wasn't sure I could sort through all of them. I knew for sure I wouldn't be able to with the outrageously gorgeous Cullens around. There was just something…strange about them. I couldn't think clearly around them. The one thing I was certain of was I needed to figure out what to do about the Cullens and them wanting to help me.


End file.
